


Swing, Swing

by dorothydonne



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Consensual Infidelity, F/M, M/M, Partner Swapping, Swingers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-29 18:11:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorothydonne/pseuds/dorothydonne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn’t the first time they’d considered it.</p>
<p>It was, however, the first time they were actually considering going through with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swing, Swing

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired just a little bit by [Swinging With the Finkels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtoEVAp1410), but without the painfully awkward bits. This particular fic will be much more focused on the Sherlock/John dynamic, with brief appearances by Sherlock/Victor and John/Mary.
> 
> Enjoy ;)

  
Married M/M Seeking Married M/F

**About Us:** We’ve been together for eleven years, married for one. I made an honest man out of him, etc., etc. We call London home and prefer to host, though we could be willing to venture outside of our cozy flat for the right couple. Our preference is to swap partners rather than play as a group, and we prefer long-term arrangements to single-night affairs.

Now that we’ve gotten the house-keeping out of the way, here are the bits:

V: Bisexual. Mid-30s with short, dark blond hair, green eyes. 6’ 2” and fit. The more outgoing half of this duo, oft described as charming and polite. Would be entertaining the lady in your pair.

S: Homosexual. Mid-30s with dark brown, brilliantly curly hair, blue/grey eyes. 6’ and slender. Can sometimes be brutally honest, may come across as posh. Enjoys figuring people out on a human level. Would be the partner of the gentleman in your couple.

**Who We’re Looking For:**  
The most important thing is that you are committed to and trust each other implicitly. S can read people, and believe me when I say he can tell when there is doubt in the relationship, or if one partner is more invested than the other. If you are interested in pursuing this arrangement with us, you must first have a foundation in your own relationship.

As for the bits, we’re looking for a couple within +/- 5 of our own relative ages. Physically, V has a penchant for blondes and S finds that it’s a nice change from the norm when he has a partner who is a bit shorter than him. Personality is particularly important to us, and we enjoy sharing conversations, dining out (and in), and occasionally indulging on a spontaneous holiday. If you can talk about something other than the weather, you're already on the right track.

If you fit the bill, feel free to contact us through the embedded e-mail address. We’re hoping to meet with a few couples for a bit of chemistry-testing. No pressure, no strings. But please keep in mind that our goal is for something long-term, so if this is not what you are looking for, move right along.

Cheers!

\----------

****  
Re: Married M/M Seeking Married M/F  


Hello V & S,

I’m M, the lady of the house. My husband and I have been married for four years, together six. While we’ve contacted a few other couples, we’ve never found the right fit to meet up with. But that’s how it goes in regular dating, so it makes sense that it works out the same way here! I think that part of it has been difficulty finding a couple with similar goals to our own, though maybe here we’ve found the right track.

We’re in our late 30s, J being two years older than me. Prior to meeting me, J primarily pursued relationships with women, but also had a few fleeting romances with men. When we started considering seeking an arrangement like this one, he said he’d prefer to have a male partner. I suppose it changes things up a bit ;) His hair is blond with accents of grey, he’s about 5’ 6” and fit. 

I’m slightly shorter at 5’ 4” with blonde hair and green eyes. I don’t know why I’m bothering so much with descriptions--I’ve attached a picture. That makes things less complicated, and I suppose proves that we’re actual people rather than robots. While we do enjoy occasionally discussing the weather, we're also up to date on current events, and we enjoy discussing travel, crap telly, and recent reads.

From your ad, I think we’d get on quite well. Let us know if you’d like to know more or chat.

Ta,  
M & J

[1 Attachment](http://25.media.tumblr.com/0778126ae1e02a65191f4903dc91ed8d/tumblr_muuiy4WmVC1qdmr9to1_500.jpg)

\----------

****  
Re: Re: Married M/M Seeking Married M/F  


Hello M & J,

Thank you for your e-mail, and for including a photo. Fair is fair, so I’ve attached one as well. Sherlock, my husband, is on the left. I’m Victor, and I’m opposite. It’s just over a year old, as it’s one of many from our wedding day, but we haven’t changed too much, he's simply camera shy (though the world may implode at this descriptor being applied to his person). I can assure you that these days he is back to his dark-haired self, and it’s best that we not question why his hair was ginger. He’s fond of experiments.

Are you and yours free any evening this weekend? We’d love to meet for a chat. In our experience, sometimes it’s best for the first meeting to happen at a neutral point rather than the home (nerves and such), and we were thinking perhaps dinner at this little Italian restaurant we frequent might be appropriate. Tea at ours would also be agreeable, if you’d both rather.

Let us know and we can work out the times.

Cheers,  
Victor

[1 Attachment](http://25.media.tumblr.com/48b80050cf29c94d1e2e6b5f08eb1320/tumblr_muuiy4WmVC1qdmr9to2_1280.jpg)

\----------

****  
Re: Re: Re: Married M/M Seeking Married M/F  


Hello Victor,

Thank you for the photo! John’s exact words upon seeing it were “They look like bloody film stars.” It was, I’ll note, not even a little like a complaint about your respective looks.

We’d be a bit more comfortable meeting for dinner or the like, the first time. Our schedules are uncharacteristically clear this weekend, so we could do Saturday evening if it suits you.

Ta,  
Mary

\----------

****  
Re: Re: Re: Re: Married M/M Seeking Married M/F  


Mary,

7 on Saturday at Angelo’s, if convenient.

If inconvenient, come anyway.

SH

\----------

****  
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Married M/M Seeking Married M/F  


Hello Mary,

I apologize for my husband’s blunt message. We’d be honoured if you and your husband would join us for dinner this Saturday. If you need the address, please let me know. I’ve included my mobile number below my signature. The restaurant isn’t particularly fancy, so don’t worry yourself over a dress code. We’re very much looking forward to meeting the pair of you.

See you soon,  
Victor & Sherlock

\----------

It wasn’t the first time they’d considered it.

It was, however, the first time they were actually considering going through with it.

Mary had conjured up a reply to the ad, and John had agreed--he really, truly hadn’t expected a response. Not in a million lifetimes. He was certain that there weren’t actual human beings on the other side of the computer screen. What sane person would post on the internet expecting to find an equally sane sexual partner? Let alone a _couple._

Their names were Victor and Sherlock. Sherlock and Victor. V & S.

John stared at the e-mail response Mary had enthusiastically forwarded him. It was time-stamped at 8 o’clock that very morning, as if this Victor fellow had been summoning interviews with potential couples as part of his morning routine.

_Ah, yes, late-thirties, married, short, sounds lovely. Penciled in for Saturday eve. Pass the milk, darling._

He bit his lip and scrolled down to the bottom of the e-mail thread, where the original ad was still there in its entirety. In all honesty, he hadn’t bothered reading it over completely when Mary had declared this couple to be positively “perfect” and clapped excitedly when she’d sent along their reply. _Their_ reply. He had to constantly remind himself that this was something he’d agreed to. 

_May come across as posh_.

John snorted. Only his wife could possibly know that his taste in men leaned in that direction.

But, _Jesus Christ_ , they both looked like film stars. And Mary had gone and bloody _told them_. He still had half a mind to doubt the legitimacy of the blokes, but they weren’t trying to lure the Watsons into their home for a nice murder just yet, so that was a plus. John just had a hard time believing that two men who were that _bleeding_ good looking had a hard time finding a nice couple to fool around with.

He’d said as much to Mary, but she’d shaken her head at him while toweling off dishes.

“I think they’re looking for what we’re looking for,” she’d said, which had been next to no help in clarifying, until she added: “It’s like being in a relationship with another person, but in this case, it’s two people. We said we don’t want flings or one-night engagements, and that’s what they’re looking for. I think we should meet them. What’s the worst that could happen?”

John, who had seen his fair share of “the worst that could happen” in Afghanistan, did not comment.

But now that he looked back at that original ad, he couldn’t help wondering: Why now?

What had prompted these two to go out into the swingers market? He knew that for himself and Mary, it was less about rekindling a flame--as it was with almost all of the couples they’d contacted prior--as it was about variety. They’d both had so many relationships in their lives before they found each other that it almost seemed odd to say “one and only” and stick to it. Not that they hadn’t--they were both loyal and faithful to each other. But they’d been throwing this idea of “others” for so long and never acting on it, it seemed as though just the idea was enough to keep their marriage solid.

John wasn’t sure what would happen if they introduced those “others”--or, specifically, Victor and Sherlock. Mary seemed certain they were all going to get along swimmingly if their expectations aligned. And there was no denying that the men where attractive. John should have been chuffed. _Those curls._

But what was in this for Victor and Sherlock? They’d been together for more than a decade--if they were in their mid-30s, that accounted for more than half of their adult lives. How long had they been doing it? How many other couples had they been with? What started the swinging? Did one of them have a weird kink the other wouldn’t indulge?

None of these seemed like the types of questions one could politely ask over pasta.

Yet, somehow, John Watson was certain that he be walking into that restaurant on Saturday night, hand-in-hand with his wife... 

For their first date with Victor and Sherlock.

**Author's Note:**

> I've written three chapters so far, and I anticipate a total of six. My plan is to update this every Friday from now until it's done, and since I've given myself such an awesome head start (7,000 words!), there is absolutely no reason for me to _not_ follow through. Not every chapter will start with an e-mail exchange, more like every other. 
> 
> As always, if you got here via a fic rec, let me know who sent you so I can [smother them with love](http://25.media.tumblr.com/08477f2a1fa15c37b221e4164b1f137b/tumblr_mk6s368BVs1ql54iro1_400.gif). Also, if you want, follow me on [tumblr.](http://likes-timelords.tumblr.com)


End file.
